Switched!
by AsakuraX
Summary: Everything is normal for the Chipmunks & Chipettes: that is, until an assignment is thrown their way. With this one project, the very foundation of all of the relationships will be shaken to the core. Who will break up? Who will fall in love?
1. Just Another Day

**A/N: I looked over the story before I began to write the next chapter. I figured, since so many people are enjoying this, I may as well try and fix it and make it as good as possibly can. In the original first chapter, I made it appear as though school was ending soon, but in order to not rush the story and work with everything, I pushed it back to the middle of the school year. That's the only change, and the only reason i needed to remake is so that you readers weren't confused when everything took place in April when I said it was June. Now that I'm done blabbering, go and get reading. **

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Alvin couldn't help but roll his eyes. It was usually difficult to pay any attention during class, but it was even harder when it was the last period of the day, in the middle of April. He was sitting in Ms. Ingram's class. Ms. Ingram _always_ insisted on lecturing the class and she was the kind of teacher who could (and often would) drone on and on about who-knows-what. He fought the urge to doze off and decided to allow his eyes (and mind) to wander far from Ms. Ingram's droning monotone. To his right, he noticed Brittany fussing with her hair in her compact mirror.

_That girl is so conceited,_ Alvin thought to himself while Brittany amused herself by putting her hair up in different styles and then slyly taking pictures with her camera phone. _But I can't help but love her. She's got a lot of good qualities, even if she elects to hide them._ His eyes floated across the room to his younger brother, Theodore. He noticed that every so often, Theodore's head would dip under his desk and come back up, and after awhile Alvin couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle to himself. He realized that Theodore, in his infinite hunger, was eating.

Leaving his brother to his meal, Alvin's eyes sleepily dragged to the front off the room and, tired though he was, he managed to roll his eyes._ Only Simon and Jeanette would actually be taking notes at a time like this!_ he thought, annoyed before he nodded off.

"All right," Ms. Ingram said after glancing at the clock. "It's almost time to go." She couldn't finish her statement because her students had begun to cheer (all except Alvin, who had once again fallen asleep in her class. She didn't mind _this_ time because he had been working unusually hard to pass her class). She waved her hands and, after some time, they all settled down. "When you return tomorrow, I'll be assigning partners for a special end-of-the-year project. It will be lasting until right before report cards." She hid her smile as the class groaned. "Have a good day!" she said while the students milled around, talking to friends and jostling out of the room.

Eleanor looked around, letting go of a breath she didn't register that she was holding. _Must have been more anxious to leave than I thought,_ she reasoned. She glanced around the room and saw Brittany off talking to some cheerleaders, while Simon and Jeanette were packing up their books and talking, no doubt about the lecture. She wandered over to Theodore, who was swiping crumbs off of his desk and onto the floor. "You know, that's how schools get infested with critters and such," she told him.

He turned to her and grinned. "I couldn't help it, those cookies were delicious!"

She smiled back at him, beginning to blush. "It's nothing. I enjoyed cooking them, but I did kind of intend to share with our siblings."

"Oh," Theodore replied. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "I could always make more." She lightly poked him in the stomach kindly. "And I'll make you a batch all for yourself."

"Thanks Ellie!" he said. He looked behind her. "Ohh!" he moaned. "Not again!"

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, before turning around. On the other side of the room, lightly snoring, was Alvin. The two chipmunks quickly approached his desk and tried to wake up their sleeping friend.

"Alvin," Theodore said softly, shaking his arm. "Alvin! Wake up!" Alvin didn't budge. "Wait. I've got an idea." Theodore reached into his bag and grabbed a brown sack. He pulled out a sandwich and held it under Alvin's nose in an attempt to wake him up.

"What are you doing?" Simon asked Theodore, Jeanette close at his heels.

Theodore waved the sandwich in Alvin's unconscious face. "Alvin's fallen asleep again. I figured a nice, tasty sandwich might wake him up."

Hearing Theodore's plan forced the two chipettes to giggle uncontrollably and even Simon cracked a smile. "Theodore, food only wakes you up."

"Oh," Theodore said, opening the wrapping and taking a bite out of the sandwich.

"I do have an idea for waking up Alvin," Simon said. "Alvin!" he called. "Dave found out that you're failing Science!"

In response, Alvin's hand dropped off of the desk and returned with a sheet of paper. Simon grabbed it and Alvin's unconscious face slipped into a grin.

"What is that?" Eleanor asked Simon, trying to peek over his shoulder.

Simon sighed. "It's Alvin's progress report. He's getting a 'B' in Science. I give up," Simon said. "I'm out of ideas."

Everyone began to leave, knowing that Alvin would wake up when he wanted to, when all of a sudden Eleanor called them back. "I know how to wake him up!" she exclaimed, pulling out her cell phone. "Hey, Britt!" she said after the phone rang. "Where are you? (…) I know, I know, but we kind of need your help. (…) We're in Ms. Ingram's class. (…) No. (…) I'm not owing you for this… (…) Whatever. (…) Okay, I'll see you here in five."

Ten minutes later, Brittany showed up. "Okay, what's the problem?" Brittany asked Eleanor.

Eleanor pointed at the sleeping Alvin. "Your boyfriend is holding us up," she answered. Brittany studied her boyfriend silently for a minute.

"I know what to do," Brittany said, going through her purse. She pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it into the air. Suddenly, Alvin let out a groan and started to shift, but he drifted back into deep slumber. "Now," she said, applying her lipstick. "Sit him up, boys." Simon and Theodore complied, grabbing his arms and pulling him back until he was sitting upright.

Brittany winked at the chipmunks and set to her work. She perched on the edge of his desk and tugged Alvin's chip up. Her face closed the gap between them; her lips hovered over his. She kissed him softly, but to her chagrin, there was no reaction, no sign that she had even dented Alvin's sleep.

"Hmph!" Brittany retorted, appalled that Alvin didn't even stir. She managed to mask her annoyance and moved in again. She licked her lips seductively and placed another kiss on Alvin's lips. She didn't stop there; she licked his top lip, which elicited a sigh from Alvin. Smiling through the kiss, she softly bit his bottom lip.

All of a sudden, she was lying on her back on the desk, Alvin pinning her down. She looked into his eyes and saw that now he was wide awake. "You sure know how to wake a guy up," he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

Alvin kissed her again and again until Brittany squealed. "Alvin," she sighed softly, trying to regulate her tone in vain. "You know we're not alone."

He leaned back and Brittany sat up. "I know," he replied with a grin, placing his trademark cap on his head. "I figured I'd show Si and Theo how their girls need to be kissed."

"Not every girl likes to be slobbered over, Alvin," Simon countered. "Kissing is a science."

"No, it's an art," Alvin argued.

"Whatever," Simon said, grabbing his books. "I'm out. I need to go to the library. Tell Dave I'll be a little late."

"Anyways," Theodore said, punching Alvin lightly. "You know I don't have a girl. I'm going to stay single until the right time."

"At the rate you're going Theo, the 'right time' will never come. You aren't gonna get any younger," Alvin said as he put away his books and shouldered his backpack. "You need to get on the ball."

Theodore scowled at Alvin, but Eleanor touched his arm and he cooled off. "Whatever Alvin," Theodore said, playing off the anger that was building up in him. "Not every celebrity, or teenager for that matter, needs to be like you."

Alvin waved his hand at Theodore carelessly. "Okay guys," Jeanette said. "On that note, I'm gonna go to the library too. Tell Miss Miller I'll be in around 9:00 pm."

Alvin looked at Theodore and Eleanor. "You two are gonna need a ride, aren't you?" They both looked at each other and nodded at Alvin, who groaned. "All right, I'll take you to Miss Miller's house. I promised my boy Kyrian that I'd take him home so I'll be back to take you home Theo if you decide to stay with Eleanor."

Theodore looked at his oldest friend and she nodded. "I'll stay with them."

"Okay," Alvin replied, heading off with Brittany to find Kyrian and pull his car into the front of the school.

"Meanwhile, we can have a little fun and make something for dinner for Miss Miller and the girls," Theodore said to Eleanor with a smile.

"Aw, Theo," she said, placing a hand onto his cheek. "You're so thoughtful."


	2. What's Wrong?

**A/N: I'm so sorry cuz I haven't added to this in a really long time. Right about now this is a sleeper story, but if i can actually get it off the ground, it'll get better. And I feel extra bad cuz after so long i only have half the writing i usually do, but i figured i shouldn't stall anymore. **

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Eleanor glanced at her watch impatiently, looking around her. The schoolyard was emptying out and most of the students had already gone home. The only ones left were the ones that needed tutoring or the athletes that had practice. She glanced at her watch again and huffed.

"Alvin!" she called in ambient frustration, "Can we leave now? I've kinda got some stuff to do!"

Alvin grinned as he leaned against the hood of his deep red Saleen Mustang while Theodore sat on the trunk. "Okay, then." Eleanor's face relaxed into a state of pure relief--, until Alvin held up a hand. "You can start walking home."

Eleanor merely took to scowling at Alvin instead of doing what she really wanted to do. Not many people could rattle her, but then again it was Alvin she was dealing with. They sat in silence for five minutes when Brittany walked up with Kyrian in tow.

Kyrian immediately beelined to Alvin and Theodore to talk, but Brittany noticed her baby sister's body language and scowl. She knew something was wrong and went to ask.

Eleanor blew a stray strand of her blond hair out of her face. "It's nothing," she replied, the scowl disappearing but the body language ever as clear.

Brittany grabbed Eleanor's shoulder softly and turned her to face her. "Come on Ellie! I know you and I know when you're angry. What's eating you?"

Eleanor breathed, and then let loose. "Your boyfriend is such a complete, total butthead!" she blurted out.

Brittany had to stifle a giggle at her sister's choice of words then chose her own carefully. "Yes, Alvin can be arrogant and pushy and really full of himself, and he usually says things without thinking, but there's another, totally different side of him. He's really a good person and he keeps an eye out for all of us."

Eleanor couldn't help but snort in utter disbelief, but for once, Brittany was dead serious. "Remember those juniors that harassed you freshman year?" Eleanor shivered at the thought of them and nodded her head. "Remember when you first told me about it, how scared you where that one day they would do more than just harass you? Well, I told Alvin and his brothers about it. You know Simon and Theodore were angry about it, but Alvin took it like you were his baby sister or something. At first he was real angry, but his look disappeared from his face and he just told me to let him handle it. And what happened to those boys?"

Eleanor was quiet, sitting there remembering the whole event. "Y'know, I really don't know what happened to them. All I know is that I never saw them again."

Brittany grinned a little. "One day ask Alvin what happened." Eleanor merely whispered an "Okay," taking time to wonder what Alvin could have possibly done to help her then.

The two sisters stood in silence until Alvin called out. "Hey Eleanor, you still need a ride, right? Let's go!"

Eleanor looked at Brittany, wondering why he didn't call her name too. Brittany squeezed her little sister's shoulder and said, "I've got cheerleading practice. I'll be home later."

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**A/N: Again I apologize for waiting so long, but you can help me move it along. If you review and tell me what you'd like to see in the story, I could use that to add to the story. Not that i don't have a story line, i just wanna make you guys happy with what you read.**


	3. Mallside

**A:N/ I suppose this is something that I should do at least once. Of course, I own absolutely nothing (except Kyrian, lucky me). Regarding Kyrian, he is another chipmunk like Alvin Simon and Theodore. And I suppose that to even the field a little, I'll make another Chipette sometime soon. But for now, enjoy Switched!**

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Alvin watched from the window of his Saleen Mustang at Eleanor and Theodore, who were going to Miss Miller's house to bake (one of their favorite activities). When Theodore turned around to wave back at Alvin and Kyrian, Ky waved while Alvin revved his car's powerful engine, his own special way to say goodbye.

When Eleanor let Theodore into the house, Alvin immediately pulled away from the curb, shifting from first gear to fourth gear in an instant. Kyrian put his head in his hands, almost scared to look up and the traffic speeding by due to Alvin's reckless driving. He sorely regretted Dave Seville's choice to actually allow Miss Miller to teach Alvin how to drive. He also ferverently hoped that the Simon, Theodore, and the girls had a chance to get better teachers or that he soon got his own car so he wouldn't be so reliant on Alvin's sadistic driving to get home.

Since it was a Friday, Alvin wanted to hang out a little bit. He asked Kyrian if he wanted too and Kyrian said it was okay. "Here," Alvin said as he switched lanes, tossing his phone towards Kyrian. "Text Brittany and tell her that when practice is over to meet us at the mall."

"That's what's up," Kyrian said, nodding. "What's the plan? We gonna wander for awhile before shooting a little pool."

"Yeah, since Britt's coming we gotta appease her. So we do a little window-shopping, and hopefully she doesn't see anything she wants. Then we play a little pool. Besides, I need to get back in; you've been kicking my butt for a year now. The only time I win is when Simon teams up with me."

"That's partially because you team me up with Theo," Kyrian laughed. "The kid can cook and plays the drums like nobody's business, but when it comes to pool, no one taught him _anything._" Alvin stifled a chuckle, remembering the last time Theodore played. He supposed one day, as a treat for his little brother and a time to bond with him, he'd bring Theodore out and they could play a game, maybe teach him a thing or two.

Half an hour more of Alvin's suicidal driving, including all the weaving and dodging he learned from Miss Miller, and Kyrian was about ready to barf all over the new, clean interior. Once Alvin pulled up to the curb, Ky untangled himself from the seat belt and leapt from the Saleen Mustang, holding back from doing what he really wanted to do, which was kiss the solid, steady stone pavement under his feet, knowing that at least for now, he was stable. He released a breath of queasiness that he didn't know he had been holding.

Alvin looked at his best friend and rolled his eyes. "My driving isn't that bad, you know."

Kyrian shook his head in disagreement. "How do your brothers stand it?" he spat. "You drive like a psycho maniac! Give me the keys, I'm driving back!"

Alvin tossed his keys in the air and when Kyrian reached to grab them, he snatched them back up, slipping them into his pocket. "Nuh uh. Nobody touches my baby," he replied, patting his car lightly.

"Don't you think I should be the judge of who can or cannot touch me?" a voice said behind them. At first, both Alvin and Kyrian thought the car was talking to them, but when they turned back, they saw Brittany and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You guys look like you'd seen a ghost," she giggled as she approached Alvin. She kissed him lightly and he returned it, not nearly as sensual as the one earlier. She patted Kyrian on his arm and he smiled back at her. "So boys, what are we up to?"

Alvin slid his arm around her shoulders and squeezed as they walked into the mall, following Kyrian. "The usual, Britt."

"A little window-shopping followed by pool?" she asked. Alvin coolly nodded as she tossed her hair over her shoulder at a group of girls cooing over Alvin and Kyrian.

As often as Alvin, Simon and Theodore had been to this same mall, girls never ceased to follow them around, swooning and cooing and flirting, and with good reason. Theodore had lost some of his baby fat (although he did retain a massive appetite) and underneath was a stocky, but muscular chipmunk, and he still portrayed the innocent look of his childhood on his face. Simon had always been skinny, but during tours and performances he liked to be helpful and move all sorts of things, like being his own roadie. Eventually, even though he was lean, he gained some muscle and because he was intelligent, he was even more of a catch. As for Alvin, well he was in a class of his own. He played all the sports, football, basketball, soccer, you name it. With all that exercise Alvin buffed up quite well, and girls worldwide wanted a chance to run their hands over his abs. Girls would hope and pray for a glance or a word from the teenage heartthrobs.

Not to say that the Chipettes did not achieve similar stardom. Along with their counterparts, the Chipettes had grown significantly. Eleanor, like Theodore, had lost a lot of her baby fat. She was still thick, mind you, but to ask any guy would be to get the reply that she was thick in all the right places. Jeanette was still shy-looking and as skinny as ever, but she wasn't as clumsy as before, and her clothing was accentuated to suit her well. But the one to watch out for was the ever fashionable Brittany. She was already beautiful as a child singer, but as a teenager, she was what the media and every hot-blooded male in the world called a goddess. The perfect hourglass figure, beautiful blue eyes, and an attitude to boot.

It was for this reason that Brittany was flipping her hair at girls, to show that not only was she beautiful, but that she had what they all wanted: Alvin Seville.

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**A:N/ I hope you guys are enjoying this story. But how am I gonna know that you really enjoyed it? There's a little button at the bottom of this screen. Go on, click it. You know you want to. Click it. . . **


	4. Curbside Conversation

Alvin pulled the Mustang over to the curb next to Kyrian's house and glanced at his watch. It was 9:30 pm, which meant that Simon would probably be home by now and he needed to go pick up Theodore and take him home too. He tried his hardest not to think about his day spent at the mall, where Brittany dragged him and Kyrian through the mall by their shirts, looking for perfume and hats and shoes and clothes and God knows what else. To make matters worse, Kyrian not only beat him in pool, he soundly crushed him five times in rapid succession. For that, Alvin made Kyrian ride in the back while Brittany rode shotgun. He made up a lie about letting her ride in the front because he was trying to be chivalrous, but really Alvin was just a little bitter and put Kyrian in the cramped back. But as they had been driving, Alvin let go of his bitterness. He considered Kyrian as much a brother as he did Simon or Theodore, and he could never stay mad too long at his brother.

He opened the driver's side door and whispered to Brittany that he would be right back. Kyrian reached around Brittany's seat and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "See ya later, Britt."

Brittany grabbed his arm before he let go and squeezed since she couldn't reach him and hug him. "Nighty night, Ky," she cooed.

Kyrian grimaced at his nickname being said in such a babyish manner, but he never let it show and patted her shoulder as he said his goodbyes.

Alvin stood on the grass waiting for Kyrian to finish saying goodbye, and when he got out, he called, "Brittany, lock the doors, I'll be right back." He stood in wait until he heard the chirping of his Mustang that signaled that the car was locked and that Brittany was safe.

"Dude," Kyrian laughed, "The way you played pool tonight, it looks like Theo might need to teach you some tricks instead of you teaching him."

Alvin shook his head. "I know man," he chuckled. "I've never played that badly before."

"Matter of fact," Kyrian noted, "Whenever Brittany watches you play, you suck especially bad. Actually, if I recall, it's the only time you suck. Usually, I'm just a little lucky, but I only win by two balls or something like that. We're usually pretty even."

"I know, I know," Alvin said, "I don't get it either." He kind of looked away, not really wanting to talk about this subject. Kyrian caught on and quieted down for a moment as they walked to his house in silence.

They stood together at Kyrian's door in the cool spring breeze. Kyrian spoke first instead of going in. "Remember those bullies from last year?"

Alvin stretched a little and rested on the side of the house. "Which ones?"

"The ones that picked on Eleanor, then Theodore after he found out and tried to help her out." The average person couldn't see it, but when Alvin looked up and nodded to Kyrian, he swore he saw something change in Alvin's countenance. "Whatever happened to them?"

Alvin looked at him square. "Of all things to come up in your mind, why that one particular one?"

"I overheard your girlfriend talking to Eleanor about it," Kyrian replied. "Quit avoiding the question."

Alvin shrugged as if he truly didn't know, but Kyrian knew better than that. "Come on, Al. Tell me what happened. I know you know what went down. If anything goes down at school, you know it. Lucky for me, I have my sources too, and they say you know what happened."

"Why do they say I know?" Alvin asked him nonchalantly.

"Because they say that you did something."

"Well then," Alvin started easily. "If you know that I did something, why can't you figure what exactly I did?"

"That's the key there," Kyrian replied. "I know the goings on at the school, but I don't know what happened. The easy answer is that it didn't happen at school." Kyrian grinned.

Alvin let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll talk. I--," and all of a sudden, a blaring noise cut Alvin off. They looked to the street and could see Brittany slamming her hand into the Mustang's horn, with no chance of her letting go.

Alvin looked back at Kyrian, who shrugged at him. "Your master is calling," Kyrian said, grinning.

Alvin lightly punched Kyrian in the arm before jogging back to the Mustang. "I'll tell you later, Ky." Kyrian nodded and opened the door to his house, waiting for Alvin and Brittany to drive off.


	5. Assignment: Eleanor?

"Alvin? Al-vin. Alvin! ALVIN!"

Alvin snapped up and said something completely random, to which his classmates snickered and giggled at. He had fallen asleep again in English class. He looked up and saw Ms. Ingram standing over him. Immediately he glanced around, looking for someone to quickly try and fill him in before something bad happened.

"Have a good nap, Alvin?" Ms. Ingram asked him politely.

"Actually," Alvin began, "I was having an excellent nap. I feel absolutely refreshed. And then to see your beautiful face when I wake up, it just makes the day that much better." His ears happily rang with the giggles that came from his classmates.

"Nice try Alvin," she retorted. "I hope you paid enough attention to describe how having a family could dictate your lifestyle." Alvin racked his brain, desperately trying to pull something out that would remotely answer his question, whether it be a right answer or wrong. Unfortunately, his mind drew blank sheets, and he had no choice but to merely shrug his shoulders in defeat.

"I got you this time Alvin," Ms. Ingram said. "Maybe you'll pay more attention in here. You may have gotten by with a good grade this time, but you'll have to put in twice as much effort if you want to pass this semester."

Alvin pressed his lips together and nodded his head. As she continued to teach her lesson, a small paper ball landed on the desk in front of him. He opened it and read the note silently to himself. _Maybe next time you'll go home and go to bed instead of talking all night long._ He looked up and grinned at Brittany, who stuck her tongue out at him. They teased each other like this until they heard Ms. Ingram say, "Speaking of families, I have a special project for you."

As if they were one complete unit, the entire class groaned aloud together. Ms. Ingram continued on as if she didn't hear them. "I will be pairing you all together as partners for this project, in which you will take the responsibilities as a husband and wife." Some of the kids smiled at this, until she held up a baby doll. "And as mother and father." And again, the classroom resonated with groans and boos all around.

Alvin grinned a little. He figured that somehow, he'd find a way out of this project or to figure out how to get it done with as little help from him as possible. Then, he could work more on the husband and wife portion with Brittany…

"Now then boys. If you will line up and take a plastic ring and two fake diplomas. On the plastic ring is the name of the girl you will be 'married to.' The diploma with the blue strand inside will tell you what your job is and your salary. The diploma with the pink strand is for your spouse. After you are situated with your partner at the end of class, you will come up and take a baby doll and take care of it. It reacts as a real child and will cry if you don't feed it, change it, or play with it. It will also record how you work with the baby, and that will be a large part of your grade. I will give you more information about this project tomorrow."

Alvin heard Ms. Ingram say that the 'marriage' was at random. He doubled back, thinking quickly on how to scheme to guarantee that Brittany was his wife. As he noticed guys sitting down with their rings, he could see some parts of girl's names on the rings. When he stood up, there were only two rings left, one for him and one for Kyrian.

"Good luck with whoever you get stuck with," Alvin joked to Kyrian.

"You too, man," Kyrian replied.

"What are you talking about, I'm gonna pull Brittany's name. Everything will work out just fine." Alvin looked at the two rings. He could only see a 'Y' on one ring, but he knew that, besides Brittany, there were five other girls in his class with 'Y's at the end of their names. The other ring had an 'MIL' and he immediately picked it up, because 'MIL' stood for Miller; he was sure of it. Kyrian picked up his ring without even taking a look at it, and they both took their seats.

Ms. Ingram stood up again and looked at her class. "Okay boys, look at the ring and find your new bride." Alvin flipped his over and gasped. He looked around frantically. The 'MIL' had stood for Miller, but not Brittany Miller. His eyes darted anxiously from his girlfriend to a blond haired, green eyed girl peeking at his brother's ring to see who he was paired with.

"I'M PAIRED WITH ELEANOR!?!?"


	6. Desperate Times

Alvin sat in his seat in shock. The rest of his day in Ms. Ingram's class consisted of him looking back at his ring and then his bride. He couldn't speak, couldn't think straight, and couldn't do anything at all. Kyrian took his seat silently, not saying anything at all. Brittany shook her head sadly; she thought the project would've been something fun to do with Alvin. Besides, she wondered how Alvin would be as a father and how they would handle being a family with a kid and everything. It became clear to her that the only way that would happen is if they became a real family, and she scoffed at that. She was too young and had her whole career ahead of her, along with being the cheerleading captain. Theodore and Simon wondered about their brother, thinking he was overreacting. Jeanette wisely stayed focused on the class, not even thinking about interfering or anything. Eleanor was a little put out. She didn't know how the project would go or how Alvin would react, or even if he could sweet-talk his way out of being grouped with her. She decided that she would be indifferent, and that whatever happened she would be okay with.

After class, Alvin exploded in adamant fury about being paired with her. "Ms. Ingram did this on purpose guys! I swear she did!"

"Now, why would Ms. Ingram be interested in your love life?" Simon countered.

"Because," Alvin shot back. "She's always been looking for a way to get back at me for all of the jokes and going to sleep and all the other stuff I do to get under her skin."

Simon merely shook his head; not wanting to get into an argument about Ms. Ingram's thought process and things of that nature. He turned to Brittany, who stood silently next to them. "So if you didn't get stuck with Alvin, who are you paired up with?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "I have no clue. I asked a couple of guys, but they took one look at me and then Alvin, and they walked away. I haven't the foggiest idea as to who it is." She stretched a little and noticed that Kyrian was still in Ms. Ingram's classroom, talking ferverently with her. Brittany tapped Alvin's shoulder and pointed to Kyrian. "What's he doing?"

"Don't know," Alvin replied. "Maybe he's got a replacement issue too. Hey, that's what I'll do. I'll go and beg her for a change in partners."

After a minute, Brittany shot out and hit Alvin's shoulder. "Hey!"

Alvin stepped back, wary of another blow and rubbing his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"I just noticed that you keep trying to switch partners as if my sister has the plague! You should be honored that if you can't be partnered with me, you get the next best thing: one of my sisters," Brittany replied, shaking her hair out.

"But still," Alvin whined to his girlfriend, "I wanted to be partnered with you. We could've had a little fun playing husband and wife." Brittany nodded, and that was all it took for Alvin to speed into Ms. Ingram's office as Kyrian stalked out.

"Why, Alvin!" Ms. Ingram said, "What a surprise to see you here. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, Ms. Ingram," Alvin said sweetly. "I just came because--,"

"Let me guess," she interrupted. "You want a change in partners?"

"Why, Ms. Ingram, how did you know I came for that?"

"I know you, Alvin. You always try to weasel your way through whatever is placed in front of you. But this time that won't be happening." Alvin's smile drooped. "I had hoped that you got paired up with someone other than Miss Brittany, but this was just too good."

"What do you mean, Ms. Ingram?" Alvin inquired, wondering what his teacher's plan for him was.

"You've been paired with one of the most head-strong, steady, and stable girls I've ever seen in all my years of teaching." _Wow, that's a lot of girls to have seen since the Ice Age,_ Alvin intoned quietly. "She's the perfect one to hopefully straighten you out and keep you in line. Maybe I'll see a huge change in you, Alvin. Maybe she'll teach you something that no one else could teach you."

Alvin hung his head sadly as he walked out of her classroom, resigned to being partners with Eleanor. He decided the best thing to do was to psyche himself up to it; maybe he'd feel better about it. He saw Brittany covering her mouth and Simon looking like he saw a ghost. He raced over to them. "What happened guys? What's wrong?"

Simon merely shook his head. Brittany spoke up. "I found out who my partner is."

"Who?"

"Kyrian…"


	7. On the Right Foot

Eleanor sat outside in the cool breeze, looking out at the first stars that decided to spring out that night. The breeze wafted through the house and out to the back porch where she sat alone, bringing with it the scent of the remnant of the dinner she had cooked with Ms. Miller. The peace outside was chilling, and at the same time it relaxed her. She reclined, allowing the soft wind graze across her skin, sending shivers through her body. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of air rushing on her, and wished for the moment to last forever. As the breeze drifted by, she felt it carry away the burdening thought of her new assignment. Eleanor glanced back at the stars and grinned at the twinkling lights above her.

The moment lasted until a loud wail rang out next to her. She jumped in surprise and recoiled from the noise until she remembered the baby doll sitting next to her. She sighed deeply as she lifted the doll up, placing it in her arms and rocking it slowly. Its wail continued to pierce the night sky, and deep inside Eleanor hoped that its cries reached Alvin's ears and kept him awake all night.

"ELEANOR!" she heard a call, more like a roar, coming from inside the house. She stood up, still rocking her "child" and left the porch to see who was calling from the upstairs window.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she saw that the voice belonged to no other than Brittany. "What is it, Brittany?"

"Keep that baby quiet!" she shouted. "I'm trying to get my beauty sleep!" Just as suddenly as she had appeared, she slammed the window shut and stormed back into her bedroom.

Eleanor sighed as the baby kept up its unholy wail. "It's okay, baby," Eleanor cooed to the plastic doll. "It'll be alright. Auntie Brittany is just cranky when things aren't going just right for her." After a moment of cooing and rocking the "baby", it quieted down and relaxed into what would be considered sleep. Eleanor sat on the porch again when Jeanette came out.

"Hi Ellie," Jeanette said. "How are you doing? How's the project coming?"

"I just got it to sleep," Eleanor released in a breath. "How's yours?"

"I don't know. Simon took the baby home with him today and said he was making stuff for him." She grinned a little. "This project is exciting. We'll get to see what it'll be like when we get older."

Eleanor doubled back, stunned. "When you're older? You guys have this talked about that already?"

Jeanette nodded her head. "He's already clarified that he doesn't want anyone else. And to be frank, I couldn't deal with anyone else. Simon gets me the way no one else would." She was prepared to continue, but one look at Eleanor's face told her she had said enough about the love of her life to her single baby sister. Instead she brought up another subject. "How are things going with Alvin?"

Eleanor resisted the urge to snort, but it was a misplaced snort due to her usual thoughts of Alvin. "He said that we would talk about the project tomorrow after Ms. Ingram gave us the rest of the information that we need."

"How do you feel about working with him?"

Eleanor sighed. "I don't know. But he made it clear that I'm definitely not his expectations. I'm pretty sure he had his hopes set on being paired up with Brittany."

"It's only natural that he would want to be paired up with his girlfriend."

"I know, but he reacted to me so poorly, like I was--,"

"Infected with the plague?" Jeanette offered. Eleanor raised an eyebrow at her. Jeanette shook her head. "Brittany berated Alvin for treating you so poorly. Those were her words exactly."

Eleanor grinned. Even though Brittany could be self-absorbed most of the time, she did have a good heart inside. She leaned over onto her sister's shoulder, still holding her project protectively in her arms.


	8. Welcome Home, Alvin

**A/N: I know, it's been awhile but I'm back again! And the song I quote here is "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria from the album Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (I know, really long title, huh?) It's also where I took the name for this title. Hope you all enjoy the song: *Special Note* Those who go listen to the song should probably Wikipedia the song to understand what the singer's talking about. **

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Simon walked through the house, rocking the baby doll that Ms. Ingram had assigned him and Jeanette. He bounced the 'child' up and down over and over again. He was glad he had a partner like Jeanette: they had worked out a definite plan together and it was flawless. They would share the child equally, although if he'd had it his way he'd move into the Millers' place…at least temporarily. A growing baby should –no needed –to be with _both _parents, and he could spend more time with Jeanie. He leaned against the wall next to the garage door and grinned lightly to himself. _There are some things that Alvin is right about,_ he thought, reflecting back on the day before this different, life-changing assignment. Alvin hadn't directly said it, but everything he said referred to him and Jeanette, he knew that for a fact. Alvin knew that they hadn't ever gotten serious, but Kyrian had once gotten hold of Simon and told him that Alvin knew everything that went on around the school. Unlike Alvin, Kyrian was definitely trustworthy, so Simon took those words to heart and watched his older brother, keeping Ky's words in mind and kept a close eye on his brother. Simon knew that he was right: somehow Alvin had his hands in everything legal and his ears in everything else. So Alvin had to know about Simon's longtime crush on Jeanette.

_Speaking of Alvin, _Simon thought, _where is he? It's been a day now and I haven't seen him with that baby he and Eleanor were supposed to be taking care of. _He sat silently, listening for any signs of life in the house. He could hear noises from the kitchen, but he'd just been in there and knew that Theodore was playing with his 'baby' and preparing food for dinner for the family. Scribbling pencils and moans were coming from upstairs: Dave had to be up there working on another song. Maybe when he was done with his project and his assignment was finished he was going to go up and help him flesh the song out. Another listen and he heard a sputtering engine and a low bass guitar chord coming from in the garage. _Of course,_ Simon said silently. _Alvin is probably tuning his precious car again. Always one for speed._

Simon opened the door and stepped inside, at first seeing nothing but the deep red Saleen Mustang in the driveway. He listened to the modest bass beat for a moment then nearly jumped out of his skin when the wail of an electric guitar burst from the stereo next to him. After righting himself and adjusting his 'child', he resorted to calling Alvin's name over the electric chords.

As the first verse ran through, Alvin pulled himself from under his car and popped the hood of his car, sticking his head in and singing the song along with the stereo. _"You could've been all I wanted but you weren't honest, now get in the ground…you choked off the surest of favors, but if you really loved me you would've endured my world…"_

Simon tapped Alvin on the shoulder. Alvin broke off his singing and turned to his brother. "Oh, hi Simon," he said. "Wanna help me tune the car? I get a little lag when I turn corners."

Simon looked around for a moment before asking, "Where's your project? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of the child too? I haven't seen you with it at all."

Alvin looked back at his brother and shook his head. "Hey, I haven't really seen Ellie at all since we got assigned the project. Besides, I'm heading out tonight."

"Where could you possibly be going?"

"Does it really matter?" Alvin said easily. "It's the weekend. I don't need to worry about anything at all." At that, he slid into the driver's seat and started the car to check the engine. Once it turned over, it roared like a race car engine and Alvin grinned. "Purrs like a kitten." Simon reached in through the window and plucked the keys from the ignition and put them into his back pocket. Alvin's face followed Simon's hand out the window and glared at his brother. "Hey, Si! Gimme those now!"

"Not until you listen to me."

"Well, can it wait until the guitar solo?" Alvin climbed out of the car window and began to play air guitar with the electric solo to this song. When the song ended with a mighty flourish he turned back to his brother –who stood there shaking his head in utter disbelief –and asked him what he wanted to talk about.

"Look Alvin," Simon began, leaning against the Mustang next to his brother. "You can't just let Eleanor do this project all by herself. She works hard for her grade and it wouldn't be fair for you to make her do all the work and swoop in and take credit for the 'A' she got." When Alvin heard that, he realized that Simon was right and nodded his head in agreement. "Of course, Ellie wouldn't let you take the credit for it _and _she wouldn't restrain from beating the crap out of you," Simon laughed and after a moment Alvin joined him.

"Si, you make a lot of sense. Hey, can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" Simon asked his brother.

"Call up Brittany and tell her I had to cancel. I've got something to do."

"Number one, it's not my job to cancel your dates: I'm not your secretary. Number two, it doesn't make sense to tell her you're doing something if you're going over their house."

Alvin hopped back into the car and started the ignition again. Simon patted his back pocket only to realize that Alvin had picked his pocket. "I never said I was going to the Millers' place," Alvin shouted over the roar of the engine.

Simon called back, "So where are you going to go?"

"Out, I need to get something to make it up to Eleanor!" Simon gazed after his brother as he pulled out of the garage and onto the street. _Hope he doesn't make a fool of himself,_ Simon said, turning to look at the baby doll in his arms while it cooed at him. Simon suddenly heard disconcerted piano notes echoing through the house. He glanced up and chuckled to himself. After he laid the 'little one' to sleep, he'd go and see if he and Theo could help Dave write the new song.


	9. Work With Me

**A/N: I want to apologize to all of you out there who are reading this story! I know it seems I've neglected you and I apologize. I was working on some other dealings and I was writing my girlfriend a oneshot for our anniversary. If you want to check it out, it's called Reflections of a Bridgegroom, and it's on my Author's Profile. Also, check my profile for a picture of the tattoo and the necklace mentioned in this chapter. I wrote this story with the song "Make it Work" by Ne-Yo in mind, so check out the song. Right now the song won't make sense, but further along in the story it will.  
**

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Eleanor reclined on her queen-sized bed, sighing in frustration before glancing at the clock next to her. Watching the red "12:00" blink at her furiously at her, she groaned allowed. It was already midnight, and she was drained. Between the "baby" she was taking care of, the chores that she'd started out with and the homework she had in other classes, she was going to lose her mind. Miss Miller and Jeanette had both offered to help her with the project and chores and homework, but she respectfully declined. Both her work and chores were Eleanor's responsibility, she'd decided. Well, at least the homework and chores that she had were solely assigned to her. She only expected and wanted one person's help with the "baby": Alvin Seville. Of course, she knew Alvin was a little busy, what with his own school work and soccer practice and who knew what else, but he still hadn't told her anything about plans with the project. Her brow furrowed; she had a sinking feeling that she would be working alone. She sighed again: if she had to, she would be resigned to work alone. She'd excel, but she'd make sure Alvin got no credit and that he knew it.

A small rattling at her window rang in her ears, and she jumped a little in surprise. She thought back and realized that the noise had been going on for awhile. She stared at the window through drooping eyelids until she noticed something clatter against her window, startling her back into full consciousness. She rolled off of her bed, grasping for her bathrobe and draping it over her shoulders before going to her window. When she opened it, she saw a red-hatted chipmunk with blue eyes staring up at her window. In his right hand he held a pebble (which he obviously used to get her attention) and his left hand was hidden behind his back. When he noticed her, he dropped the pebbles and waved at her.

"What are you doing here, Alvin?" Eleanor asked shortly. "Brittany's room is on the other side of the house. She won't be happy that you stood her up tonight," she added sardonically, her arms crossed in obvious irritation at the chipmunk before her.

Alvin winced visibly: he knew that he probably deserved that quip. "Actually," he began, more nervous than before, "I'm here to see you." Her gaze went from irritated to a cross glare, and he closed his eyes to maintain whatever courage he had left. "Can you please come down, Eleanor? I really need to talk to you?" She sighed in blatant frustration, but nodded stiffly and turned to come down. Alvin took a deep breath to prepare himself for what would happen next, running a shaky and harried hand through the hair under his cap.

Eleanor dropped her robe and grabbed the first pair of pants her hand touched, pulling them up and allowing them to rest low on her hips, exposing the waist-band of her dark green pajamas. She picked up a shirt and slid it haphazardly over her head, not even caring to pull it down in the back, leaving her lower back exposed as well. In all honesty, she didn't care to entertain Alvin's presence, and her seemingly disheveled appearance showed it.

When she managed to make her way out of her room and down the stairs without waking her sisters and Miss Miller, a cold breeze washed over them. Her back was pressed to the house, throwing her arms around herself, thankful that her shirt had longer sleeves. She looked at Alvin expectantly.

At a loss for words, Alvin waved again. "Hi, Eleanor," he muttered weakly.

Eleanor gave him a scowl unlike any he had ever seen on her and he cringed. "You've got three minutes," she remarked to him coldly, venom dripping from every word she spoke, "before I turn back around and walk out on you. You'd better get to talking."

Alvin's eyes widened in utter surprise. Eleanor had never acted like this, to change this harshly and suddenly. She'd never given _anyone _an ultimatum like that before! He gulped nervously, knowing this time that he had really gone too far just ditching her with their project like that, knowing that she had loads of stuff to do. He had really pissed her off this time, and he hoped that what he had would be enough to appease her.

It had been more than a minute since she'd stepped outside and Alvin still hadn't said anything to the angry chipette in front of him. Eleanor looked at her wrist and then held it to her ear as if she was checking a watch. "Tick tock, Alvin. You're wasting your time…and mine."

Alvin swallowed hard before plunging in. "Ellie, I know I've been a real jerk. I haven't been the nicest guy and everything. I feel bad for making you feel bad by trying to switch partners. And I shouldn't have just ditched you without at least making plans with you about our project." He took a half step closer to her and breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped toward him instead of backing up. "In short, all I'm trying to do is say I'm sorry."

Eleanor continued to glower at the chipmunk in front of her, seemingly unmoved by his speech. She didn't say anything for minutes, and Alvin paled, wondering if she had ever been listening to his plea. "That's it?" she asked, almost incredulously. "You're sorry?" Her glare took all words from him and he nodded his head for lack of words. "That's nice Alvin, very nice, but it isn't enough." With every word, she stepped from the shelter of the house into the moonlight. "I've watched and listened to you say you're sorry to every girl that's passed through your doorway, and I didn't believe you then. Why should I believe you now?" Although he didn't speak, flinching at her words, his subconscious did for him: _I was never apologizing to you,_ he intoned.

Instead of listening to his head, he opened his mouth. "How can I prove myself?" he asked her. She thought for a moment, during which time Alvin's eyes gave Eleanor a once-over, noticing her hip-hugging jeans with her pajama waistband exposed and her shirt that clung to her figure gracefully, accentuating her body. His eyes flowed up her body and met her beautiful amber -, _Whoa, was I just thinking that? _Alvin asked himself beratingly. _You're dating her sister, you love her sister…_ He stopped to shake himself when she spoke again.

"What's that behind your back?" she asked, ignoring his question.

He pulled a small box from behind him, replying, "It's a promise. It's my mark. It's me saying that I won't ditch you on this. That you can rely on me. That I'll be watching out for you, because I'm your friend." He opened the box and produced a steel chain affixed with a silver fleur-de-lis with black linings. He gestured to her, and she turned, allowing him to place it on her neck. She turned to face him again, still unsure if she could trust him. "What about this?" he tried. "You give me the doll, and I'll take care of it for a week while you relax and decide. You can bring me his stuff at school tomorrow."

At this, she let the smallest hint of a smile crack on her face as she raced back in the house to get the "baby." When she returned, she gently handed him the doll. As Alvin cradled the doll in his hands, she spoke. "I'll trust you Alvin. I'll work with you, but you have to promise to work with me."

"I promise," Alvin declared, chastely kissing Eleanor on the forehead. He placed another to her cheek and winked at her while she blushed hotly from the contact. "Give the second kiss to your sister for me, will you?"

"I'll think about it," Eleanor replied, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

Alvin shook his head, responding jokingly. "I don't take well to people mocking me like that. I'll make another promise: that I'll get you back for teasing me." He smiled to show he was kidding.

Her response was to press her body to him, her face mere inches from his. "And what are you going to do about it?" she said, her plump lips moving purposely. Alvin stammered, backing up a little. She grinned, kissing the baby doll in Alvin's hands and whispered, "Good night, little Sy."

Before she could turn away, he asked, "Who's Sy?"

Eleanor turned back to Alvin. "That's the name of the baby." She turned away, and Alvin caught sight of Eleanor's back, exposed from her haphazard dressing earlier, and he had to stop himself from ogling his girlfriend's very appealing sister. He was granted the sight of a heart with angels' wings and a chain connecting all around. When she stepped in the house, she allowed the door to slam behind her.

As soon as the door slammed shut, little Sy burst into very realistic tears and wails. _Oh great,_ Alvin thought to himself. _This is gonna be a long night…

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_**I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter, and I promise to try and update more often. This was a hump that was hard to push myself over but I did it. Now the next chapter...**

**Anways, tell me what you thought. What you liked, what you didn't, where you guys think I should go. And the only way to do that is to...**

**REVIEW  
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	10. A First Time for Everything

**A/N: I'm SO SO SO SO sorry. I know I've probably lost a LOT of my readers. It's been a little over a year. But I have a good reason. Senior year. Yup, senior year came and dragged all my time with it. And then I got a job during the summer and then I looked up and saw it was college time. But I kept going back and looking and going...I need to finish some of these stories. So, I'm going back to my first stories and working until I finish them. And since you guys waited so long, I made this chapter twice as long. Hopefully my next update takes half as long to make for you guys. **

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Alvin sat in front of his guitar, slowly strumming at the strings as his eyes bored into the sheet music in front of him. He stopped playing immediately, shoving his guitar pick in between his lips as she tugged the pencil out from behind his ear. He held it close to the sheet music, poised to add notes to the song when. . .

"Waah!" Alvin jumped so hard his pencil dragged across the sheet music, marring the paper. He turned around, staring at the doll reclining on his bed, 'staring' back at him with wide, unblinking eyes. Alvin stared harder at the wailing 'child', hoping that with just a stare, he could manage to calm it down.

Two minutes into the staring match had Alvin's eyes stinging and burning and he shuddered instinctively. He decided that, until this assignment was over, he probably shouldn't watch _Chucky_ again. _Note to self,_ Alvin thought bitterly as he strode over to his bed, _never get into a staring match with a baby doll. _

Alvin picked up the baby doll, cradling it in his arms. "So what's up little man?" he asked the doll, rocking it back and forth. "You just need some attention? Are you wet? Are you hungry?" The chipmunk ruffled through the bag Eleanor had packed for him, looking for a diaper and something to feed the 'kid.' He grabbed a diaper and set the kid down to begin to change his diaper when he realized the 'new' one he was holding had been used already. He crumpled it up wearily and tossed it towards his trash can. Even though the doll couldn't actually relieve itself, the diapers were rigged to change colors once having been in contact with the plastic doll for a certain amount of time. Sighing aloud, he pulled another clean diaper out of the bag and began to fasten it to the 'baby.' He then sat by his keyboard and pressed a flourish of buttons as he bounced the doll on his lap, allowing the machine to play a pre-recorded lullaby. Alvin grabbed the baby bottle and proceeded to feed the 'child,' rocking it gently in hopes that it would stop crying and go to sleep.

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Half an hour and thirty lullabies later, little Sy had finally drifted off to sleep. Alvin tiredly smiled in relief, content that he'd finally set himself a rhythm for taking care of the 'kid.' He stood up and walked to the window, looking out into the Miller's yard next door. _I never knew it could be this hard doing this, _Alvin intoned quietly. _I need to apologize to Ellie again._ He grimaced. Apologies were hard to do for him, but he figured he owed it to Eleanor. He put her through more stress than she needed.

A soft knock at his bedroom door snapped him out of his thoughts. He strode to the door and opened it quietly, peering to see who was on the other side of the door.

"Hey Si," Alvin mumbled tiredly. "What's up?" He opened the door wider and offered Simon his desk chair while he sat by his keyboard.

"How are you Alvin?" Simon asked.

"I'm alright," Alvin forced out through a yawn.

"Oh really?" Simon asked. "You aren't looking alright. You look worn out."

"Yeah," Alvin managed. He gestured to the 'baby' sleeping on the bed. "I think me and Ellie got one of the really bad ones. He keeps me up a lot with the crying and feeding and changing and attention. Now I know how Ellie felt."

Simon looked at Alvin, shocked. "My word! Alvin learned a lesson?" He whispered. "Now isn't that something. He's growing up," Simon joked.

Alvin smiled a tired smile. "Y'know, under normal circumstances, I'd punch you. But I'm too tired to wreak my vengeance on you."

"Wreak? Vengeance? Who knew you of all people knew those words," Simon countered with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Simon. Laugh while you can," Alvin threatened.

"I just came to tell you Theo made a snack. He specifically told me to tell you to come down and get something. I think he's a little worried about you. You've never worked this hard before. I think he's proud of you too."

Alvin nodded. "I'll be down in a minute. Tell him I said thanks." Simon nodded in understanding, then closed the door softly as he left. For the next minute, Alvin felt at peace. No music, no talking, and especially no crying baby dolls. At least, that was until his phone went off, blasting a loud guitar solo that Alvin had played a long time ago on tour with his brothers. And in perfect unison, little Sy began to cry. Alvin groaned under his breath, face-palming himself in frustration. He scooped up the baby doll in his arms and picked up his phone, staring at the caller ID before flipping the phone open.

"Hello?" he answered with a little irritation dripping in his voice.

"Alvin?" He heard Brittany ask. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Alvin groaned heavily. "Nothing, Britt. I'm just a little tired. Did you need something?"

"Alvin, I wanna go out!" Brittany said, just on the edge of whining.

"So go out," Alvin told her, trying to rock Sy back to sleep.

"I can't go out alone, Alvin."

"So go out with some friends."

"I don't want to go out with them, I wanna be out and seen with you." Alvin held back an annoyed snort at that. "Alvin, we haven't hung out in a while," she whined. "I hardly get to see you now."

"I'm sorry Britt," Alvin said softly. "But I promised Eleanor I'd prove that I could help her with this project. I can't break my promise."

"Yes you can!" Brittany insisted. "Just push it off on one of your brothers or something. Just leave it for a couple of hours. It isn't a _real _baby anyways."

"No, Brittany," Alvin concluded firmly. "I am not going to do that. Good night Brittany." Before she could reply, he clamped his phone shut, not wanting to talk anymore. Almost immediately after he hung up, the chimes of the doorbell rang. Alvin opened his bedroom door, crying 'baby' in hand. Over the wails of the baby, he heard mumbled voices downstairs. "Hey!" he called out. "Who's at the door?"

"It's Jeanette and Eleanor!" Theodore called out from downstairs.

Alvin walked down the stairs slowly, Sy in hand. Curiosity taking over the chipmunk, he peered over the nearby banister to see Jeanette holding a baby doll similar to the one in his arms. Next to her was Eleanor, wearing low-rise jeans and a green long-sleeved, close fitting T-shirt. Alvin found his eyes glued to Eleanor as he descended the stairs, managing to say hi to Eleanor and her sister.

Alvin heard footsteps behind him and managed to pull his gaze away from Eleanor before she noticed him staring and look behind him to see Simon following him down the stairs. "Good evening, ladies," Simon greeted, which earned him smiles from both chipettes.

"What brings you guys here?" Alvin asked, curious about the pleasant, but unexpected visit.

Jeanette adjusted the 'baby' in her arms. "Well, I told Simon I was gonna bring the 'baby' over for us to be with before I left her for him to take care of."

Alvin nodded, rocking the baby while Simon and Jeanette walked upstairs to do Dave-knows-what. After watching the couple go to Simon's room, the three chipmunks stood there facing each other. "So, Eleanor?" Theodore said softly. "Would you like to make something for us all to eat with me?"

Eleanor smiled quickly. "That would be nice Theo, and if I hadn't come here on a mission, I would take you up on that. As it is, I actually came to talk to Alvin. Can I take a rain-check on that?"

"Of course Eleanor," Theodore said, making his way to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Alvin silently motioned to the living room. Eleanor nodded slowly and made her way towards the sofa along the wall. She sat at the edge of the sofa and watched as Alvin sat on the other end, supporting the 'baby' in his arms.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" Alvin asked her.

Eleanor pulled a little at the sleeves on her shirt before looking up at him. Alvin managed to notice that any rage he had seen a week ago when he showed up in the middle of the night was all but dissipated. "I wanted to see how you took to taking care of Sy by yourself. I wanted to see how serious you were about what you told me."

"And? What have you discovered?"

Eleanor gave Alvin a small smile. "That so far, you're keeping up your end of the promise."

Alvin ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. It's been tough though. I can't believe I had you doing this all by yourself."

Eleanor held out her hands for the doll. Alvin looked all too eager to hand Sy over. While she took the 'baby' in her arms, cooing gently at Sy, Alvin let his body fall back as he rubbed his bleary eyes. "I should apologize too," Eleanor murmured gently.

Alvin's body shot back up immediately. "For what?"

"For doing to you what you did to me. I was upset, so I let you take on the job I was doing as payback. I wanted you to feel as bad as I did."

Alvin nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on Eleanor and the doll she held. He watched her coo and coddle the child.

_Eleanor looks almost completely natural doing this, _Alvin thought to himself. _Brittany would be trying to push the baby on someone else to take care of right about now. _

Eleanor looked up and caught the small smile spreading across the chipmunk's face. "Alvin, are you okay?"

Alvin shook himself, dragging his attention back to the chipette in front of him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Eleanor nodded slowly. "I think that you've got the idea of what it's going to take to make this project work now. But we still need a plan." She noted Alvin's disheveled form, his shirt on backwards and unkempt hair. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen Alvin without his hat. "And, from the look of things, you need a break," she mentioned with a giggle.

Alvin blinked slowly as he checked himself out. He shrugged slowly. "I haven't done anything but take care of the 'kid'. I couldn't even write the song I was working on. Only spare thing I did get out of the way was this little lullaby I made for him."

Eleanor's eyes grew wider. "Alvin, you say that like you've been taking care of a real live baby."

Alvin shrugged. "Well, I consider it good practice. I want to be able to raise a kid one day."

To say the least, the chipette was surprised. Alvin "Playboy" Seville wanted kids? Maybe he really wasn't as bad as she thought. Then she felt bad. As much time as she and her siblings spent with the Sevilles, she didn't know the red-clad chipmunk all that well. She really only knew what her friends whispered as he walked the halls of high school and what her sister bragged about at home. Eleanor had a feeling that that wasn't really Alvin, or at least that it wasn't all of him, and she wanted to know the other side. The side that Brittany claimed protected her when she didn't even know it.

"Well," she said, "If we're going to work on this project together, we need to know each other a little better than we do. How about we go out somewhere?"

"What about Sy?" Alvin asked. "We can't just leave him here. He's our responsibility."

Now she knew that there was a glitch in the matrix. Alvin was talking about responsibility. Next, Brittany would be quoting Shakespeare and Simon would go gangster on them. She smiled, trying not to laugh. "Maybe your brothers would watch little Sy for us." And with that thought, she stood up, 'baby' in hand, and strode towards the kitchen.

"Theo!" Eleanor called out. She rounded the corner of the kitchen, looking for her green-clad best friend.

She found him with his head stuck in the oven, fussing over whatever he was baking. Theodore managed to sit back on his haunches and look at his best friend. "What's up Eleanor?"

"I need a favor," she told him. "Can you watch our 'baby' for a little while? Alvin and I need to go and work out exactly what we're going to do for this project."

Theodore nodded quickly. "Sure Eleanor. Bianca has our project tonight, so I'd be more than happy to watch yours."

Eleanor grinned and ruffled Theodore's hair playfully. "Thanks Theo. You're the best." She placed the doll on the island in the middle of the kitchen and kissed its nose. "Be good for Uncle Theo, okay?" she cooed at the doll. "Thanks again, Theodore."

"No problem, Ellie," Theodore quipped, going back to focus on the oven and the lasagna in it.

Eleanor walked back to the living room to tell Alvin the good news. "Alvin, Theodore said he'd watch our doll for us." She looked at the chipmunk slumped against the sofa, breathing slowly and deeply. She shook her head with a smile on her face. _Little Sy must have been a handful, _Eleanor thought,_ to put Alvin to bed. _She stared at his dozing form. Her eyes dragged from his cute sleeping face and down his trim, fit body and wondered briefly what the muscles would feel like under her hands. . . _Oh my God! What am I thinking? _

Eleanor gulped a little nervously, feeling a little warm under her collar. She snuck off to the bathroom quietly, locking the door behind her. Immediately, she turned on the water faucet and began splashing her face with water in an attempt to cool off her heated skin. _I can't be thinking like that about Alvin! He's my sister's boyfriend! _Only when she knew for a fact that she was calm did she open the bathroom door and stroll easily back to the sleeping chipmunk, nudging him hard enough with her knee to wake him up.

Alvin awoke with a start, bleary-eyed and startled. After blinking twice, he saw Eleanor standing over him, arms crossed over her well-endowed chest. "I'm sorry, Ellie. I'm just a little tired."

Eleanor smiled softly. "That's fine, but I still want to talk about this assignment we have together."

Alvin sat up and began to stretch, his muscles twitching under his T-shirt. "Well, why don't we go out and find a place where I can wake up and we can talk? How about the mall?"

Eleanor followed behind Alvin as he strode through the doors of the mall as if he owned the place. The ride here had been very silent and uneventful. The chipette stopped suddenly, wondering what exactly at the mall could keep Alvin awake and let them talk.

Alvin seemed to notice that his partner wasn't behind him and turned around. "Come on Ellie!" he called. When she didn't move, he shook his head playfully. "It's alright. I've brought Simon and Brittany and even Theodore here before. And they all loved it!"

Eleanor thought about it for a second. _Simon went and loved it? I know it can't be that bad, _she thought as she followed the red-clad chipmunk.


	11. Who Are You?

Eleanor followed Alvin through the mall, studying the chipmunk in front of her as he strode to their destination. He'd told her that he intended for them to go somewhere private so he could wake up and talk, but the chipette couldn't help but watch him walk, knowing that if he was trying to keep a low profile, he was doing a horrible job at it.

"Where are we going, Alvin?" Eleanor asked him warily.

"Come on Ellie," Alvin said, turning to his friend. "Don't you trust me?" he asked, casually throwing his arm around her shoulders.

Eleanor shoved his arm off of her playfully with a smile before replying. "I'd be stupid to trust you blindly, Seville."

Alvin clutched at his chest jokingly, as if he'd been wounded. "You've cut me to the quick, Miller. It pains me greatly that you can't trust me," he finished with a wink, causing Eleanor to giggle.

"Seriously Alvin, where are we going?" she asked him with a smile on her face.

Alvin gave her his trademark smirk. "Don't worry about it Ellie. Besides, if ol' stick-in-the-mud Simon liked it, you should be just fine."

Eleanor decided she couldn't argue with that kind of logic, so she strolled side-by-side with the chipmunk. For a moment, the chipette decided that hanging out with Alvin wasn't so bad. She wondered why Brittany always complained about the downsides of hanging out with him. Eleanor knew her sister was certainly enamored with the red-clad chipmunk, but didn't know what bothered her so much about going out with him. At first glance, Eleanor assumed it wasn't the amounts of attention Alvin got, simply because while they walked through the mall, no one seemed to notice that Alvin Seville had even stepped in the place. _Of course, _Eleanor intoned quietly, _If this is how it always is around Alvin, it'd make her mad that she wasn't in the public's eye and grabbing as much attention as she could get her hands on._

The chipette settled her brown eyes onto Alvin, who noticed that his friend was looking at him. He flashed a smile at her in response, and at that particular moment a high-pitched squeal racked their ears. Alvin spun on his heel, looking for the source of the sound as Eleanor peered around his broad shoulders.

"OH MY GOD!" a small, blond girl cried out. "IT'S ALVIN! ALVIN SEVILLE!" Almost immediately after the call went out, crowds upon crowds flocked towards Alvin and Eleanor.

Silently, Alvin face-palmed, slight irritation oozing off of him. He turned to look at Eleanor with almost a sheepish look on his face. "You wouldn't happen to have any experience in beating off unwanted fans, would you?" Eleanor only shook her head no, which drew another sigh from Alvin's lips. "Well," he said with a hint of finality, "We can either suffer through them, or we can try and run."

Eleanor glanced around as the crowd grew, becoming a monster of its own, threatening to swallow the two chipmunks there. Immediately she grabbed hold of his hand, and found herself almost being dragged off by the chipmunk. As soon as she managed to get her mind focused on the concept of either running or suffer being swarmed by Alvin's many fans, she easily kept pace with him, staying close on his heels as he cut through corners and stores in an attempt to get away from the maddening crowd.

"Whose bright idea was it to come to the mall for this conversation we were going to have?" Eleanor heaved between breaths, trying not to tire herself out while they kept pace ahead of the fan girls that kept popping up in their way.

"Trust me," Alvin said. "We'll get out of this okay." He began to smile again, as if he was almost used to being chased around by adoring fans. Well, Eleanor knew he probably was used to being chased by fans, but also knew that, in public at least, Alvin had a tendency not to run but embrace every fan, giving autographs and pictures and anything they asked for…well, almost anything. Brittany would have a fit and Alvin probably would cease existing if he did everything that those fans wanted from him.

"If I get trampled by your fans Alvin, I'm coming back to stomp you," Eleanor threatened him evenly, maneuvering to run beside him.

Alvin managed a look behind him, noticing that the group was still in pursuit but constantly falling behind. The chipmunk decided he had to think fast; he and Eleanor could only run so much before they got tired, and the crowd would be relentless until they were caught. He also knew that they were close to where they needed to go and just needed to shake the group quickly.

"Come on," Alvin huffed, short of breath. "We're going to duck into that small closet. There's a door on the other side that can help us get away."

Eleanor looked at him in wonder, mostly trying to figure out why he knew about a door in the closet. But before she could answer, he tugged her into the closet behind him and quickly shut the door, hoping that they were far enough ahead that they wouldn't be caught.

"Quick, put your hair in a pony-tail and put my shirt on," he whispered to her, pulling up his shirt and handing it to her.

"Uh, why am I wearing your shirt?"

"There is a chance they'll be on the other side of the door. If we come out looking like we did when we came in, they'll know and chase us some more. If you put on my hat and my shirt, they won't recognize you, because you're built like a girl." He placed his hat on Eleanor's head, smiling as he looked her over.

Eleanor peaked up at him from under the rim of his favorite hat. "Well I'm glad you noticed that I'm a girl Seville," she intoned drily.

"That's not what I meant, Ellie," he started.

Eleanor held up her hand, taking the shirt from him. "I know, I know. I'm just pulling your leg Alvin." She draped the shirt over her head, watching as it billowed out on her. "What are you going to wear?" she asked him, taking in a deep breath and unintentionally breathing in the thick scent of Alvin that lingered on his shirt. Without her thinking about it, Eleanor's eyes rolled back as she reveled in the smell before she snapped herself out of it. _I can't keep doing that,_ she told herself. _He belongs to Brittany!_

Meanwhile, Alvin pulled a black button-down top from behind some cleaning supplies, eliciting a smug look and crossed arms from Eleanor. "Uh, I can explain," Alvin began.

Eleanor tossed open the other door, striding out into the new area. "Yeah, yeah Alvin. I don't think I wanna know exactly why you keep a change of clothes here."

Alvin slung the button-down over his shoulders, sliding the fabric of the sleeves down his arms before jamming a black cap onto his head. Peeking under the brim of his hat, he watched Eleanor walk away from the closet and found himself watching her hips sway back and forth before his eyes. After a moment, he rubbed his eyes and shook himself. _You can't keep doing that, Seville_, he scolded himself. _You can't keep ogling your girlfriend's little sister._

While he was berating himself, Alvin heard a voice calling him. "Hurry up!" Eleanor said. He came closer to her, while she carefully placed herself under him so that her hat hid the rest of his face to protect them from prying eyes. To anyone looking at them, they just appeared to be a young couple having a private moment.

"We can't stay here," Eleanor whispered to Alvin. "The fan girls split up to find us. It's only a matter of time before they do." Eleanor took a quick breath before continuing, unintentionally blowing her perfume in his direction, disorienting him momentarily. "Maybe we should do this another time," she said with finality.

Alvin forced himself to hear everything she'd said and not be distracted by the close proximity the two chipmunks shared. "No, we'll be fine. Once we get to where we're going, no one will see us and the people there won't care who we are."

"Alvin, are you sure?"

Alvin looked at Eleanor with a stunning smile. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Eleanor put her finger to her lip in thought before responding. "Well, there was the time you blew up the theater when we were performing _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._ You got us caught up in a worldwide multi-million dollar scandal, smacked Dave with a billboard, and you got us lost on an island twice, one of which was a fully active volcano! Then there was your monster phase, when you scared the crap out of me and my sisters. Oh and there's…"

"Okay, okay I get the point," Alvin cut her off abruptly. "But this time, you can trust me."

* * *

Eleanor decided that Alvin was right: the people didn't care who they were. But that was because most of them were watching the football game on the screen on the far wall and downing beer after beer. The chipette watched Alvin as he strode into the bar almost nonchalantly. She stopped at the back door they had entered through, giving the place another once-over. It was a full-scale bar, with dart boards, blaring TV, a standing bar and bartender, and tucked away in the far corner were a trio of pool tables. Her eyes darted back to Alvin, who had just been waving coolly at one of the guys watching the game, who merely raised his beer at the chipmunk. Alvin looked to Eleanor with a smile on his face, beckoning her to come in. After a beat, she followed him, softly gulping, thinking that overall this had been a bad idea after all.

Alvin noticed how wary Eleanor seemed. "Are you okay?"

Eleanor gave Alvin a soft glare. "Oh yeah, Alvin, I'm just fine," she replied with a hint of sarcasm. "In case you didn't notice the first few dozen times you've been here, this is a bar!"

Alvin looked at her. "Yes Ellie, it's a bar."

Eleanor couldn't believe how hare-brained the chipmunk sounded to her. She thought that she didn't know him, and she was right about that. But she didn't think that what the media said might've been true. Maybe some of the things she'd heard about the lead Chipmunk singer had been real after all. At least some of the more…wild child antics he'd been known to pull.

She tried to appeal to his common sense while she questioned if he really had any. "Alvin," she said again, tugging on his arm so he turned to her. "This is a bar! As in, 'You-can-only-get-in-if-you're-21-because-that's-the-legal-drinking-age-in-America' bar!" she told him.

"Yup," he nodded coming up to the bartender. He stood at the counter, smiling at the bartender. "Hey, Sal."

The bartender finished wiping down the end of the bar before looking up and seeing the chipmunks. "Why, if it isn't Alvin Seville! How are you feeling?"

The chipmunk shrugged as an answer. "It's been a long couple of days."

"I bet," the gruff bartender said. "You've haven't been by in a week, if not longer."

Alvin nodded. "A little project came up. I'm actually here on a little break. Trying to unwind a little. Can you give me the usual?"

The bartender didn't even respond, just away from the chipmunks before returning with two dark drinks. He placed them in front of the Alvin. "The cues are already over there Seville."

Alvin nodded, swiping both mugs and moving away from the bar. "Thanks Sal!"

"Anytime Seville. And tell David to stop by soon. Haven't seen him in a while."

Alvin nodded before walking to a small table set up next to the pool tables. Setting down the mugs, he gestured for Eleanor to sit. "Alvin, what's going on?" she asked him. "And why are there two mugs?"

He gently pushed one over to her. "Because this one is for you." She looked at him in awe, struck silent by everything that had just occurred. Alvin noticed that the chipette with him was being unusually silent. "I'll explain everything once you calm down a little. Take a drink," he told her, sipping his own drink coolly.

Eleanor pushed the glass away from her disgustedly. "Y'know Alvin, I didn't know that you drank. I don't think I wanted to know that you did."

Alvin snorted in the middle of taking another drink, sputtering and choking on his beverage. "Drink? As in alcohol? Eleanor you are too much," he gasped in between laughs.

Eleanor looked at the chipmunk in front of her, surprised at his reaction and lack of an explanation or an excuse. As a matter of fact, she was almost expecting some sort of excuse from Alvin. "What are you talking about, 'as in alcohol'? We're in a bar Alvin! What do you think they drink here?"

Alvin shook his head, trying not to choke on his drink again. "Eleanor, I'll admit, I do some stupid things. I've done some daring things. But I wouldn't bring you and my siblings here to get drunk. It's a root beer Eleanor. You probably just smell the scent of beer because this is a bar that serves alcohol. Dave wouldn't let me hang out here if I was actually getting drunk here."

"So Dave knows about this place?" Eleanor questioned, slipping Alvin's cap off of her head and placing it in front of her.

Alvin's hand reached out to touch his cap and his hand briefly brushed Eleanor's causing a small spark to cross the two, as if they had touched something hot and pulled their hands back immediately. Alvin forced himself to ignore the sensation and answer the question. "Dave set this whole thing up. He knew that if I was restricted, then I would just go wild. He also knew that I needed some place I could hang out if I wouldn't stay home. So he looked up some of his old friends and remembered that Big Sal ran a bar. Originally he didn't approve of the idea, but I like playing pool and Sal keeps an eye on me, makes sure I'm behaving and not drinking. And this isn't a big thing for a bunch of other people. The only ones allowed in are me and my brothers, and you and your sisters. Oh, and Kyrian comes in too, but he only comes when he's with me. No one else even knows about this place in regards to us hanging out here. It's a private hangout of sorts."

"So what about everyone over there?" she mentioned, pointing at the TV.

"Those guys are regulars. This place has a sort of prestige. You only get in if Big Sal says you get in. And he only has people in here he can trust. People who know how to keep their mouths shut about two celebrities coming to play a couple rounds of pool and just talk and relax," he added with a wink.

Eleanor nodded slowly, still feeling a slightly burning feeling on her hand. She shook her hand before tucking a strand of hair behind her hair. _I guess I really don't know Alvin. I mean, I know he likes sports and red, and that he loves his brothers and performing with them. He's dating Brittany. But I don't know anything about him at all…_ "You know, I find that I don't know you very well at all, Alvin."

Alvin took off the black cap and replaced it with his signature red one. "I don't know you very well either. I mean, you like cooking and soccer, and you wear green. I'd assume you love your siblings like any good sister, and…" suddenly Alvin broke off his thought.

"What? What is it, Alvin?"

He waved his hand. "It's nothing to worry about Ellie. I'm just agreeing. We don't know each other as well as we should since our siblings have been close for so long."

Eleanor leaned across the table, placing her elbows down to balance herself. "So how do we remedy that?" she asked him.

"Simple," Alvin replied. He extended his hand to Eleanor, who took it warily. "Hi. I'm Alvin Seville," he told the chipette with a blinding smile.

Eleanor gripped his hand and shook it lightly before offering a sweet smile of her own. "Eleanor Miller."

* * *

**Okay guys, it's official. I suck. I'm so sorry for not updating like I should. But I'm going to be honest, this is one of my favorite stories so it will be finished. I swear it will be finished. I refuse to do anything else. Unfortunately, my mind moves faster in writing out plots than writing out words. So my brain has taken this story and written parts of it, taken my other stories and just about finished them and then keeps writing more. I often have to try and rein it in to get something done. I seriously hope to update soon. **


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